I would like to raise awareness about an important issue facing the state Legislature this session. The state faces a decision whether to expand, maintain or gut the current bottle bill. The bottle bill is Vermont’s most successful recycling program, achieving more than two times the recycling rate of any other program. Studies show that 85 percent of bottles and cans with deposits are recycled as compared with only 35 percent of bottles and cans without a deposit. With only a nickel deposit on each container, this program has achieved incredible success.

The prospect that the Legislature would even consider removing incentives for recycling is alarming, when in fact we should be looking to expand this successful program. A recent study shows that expanding the bottle bill to cover additional beverage containers will recycle nearly 100 million additional bottles and cans each year.

I would like to personally thank Sen. David Zuckerman for co-sponsoring an expanded bottle bill and encourage all Vermont legislators to follow his leadership. Quite simply, it’s the right thing to do.